April 24 4.15-5.35
Went out with Heaven to knock out
another battery. Saw 4 Hun Scouts coming up
so cleared for action. Were attacked by all four
atfirst {sic}. Two then broke off, and we set to.

Spiralling, and dodging, to keep them off my
tail. Heaven fired hard in bursts. Tracers
could be seen entering their fuselages. The poor
old Quirk shivered every time they hit us.
After 3 or 4 minutes hard work the Huns
cleared off, and appeared to have had enough.

On the 24th April Bernard Rice and his observer 2nd Lt Archibald Cecil Heaven were awarded the Military Cross.

Bernard’s award was announced in the London Gazette on 18th June 1917: “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While flying at a low altitude he located several enemy batteries. He was attacked by enemy machines, and although under heavy fire from the ground succeeded in driving them off. He has on numerous occasions obtained the most valuable information”.

When war began Bernard Curtis Rice was an apprentice with the Daimler Car Company. On 7 August 1914 he and his brother drove from the factory in Coventry to Avonmouth, where they joined the Army Service Corps (ASC), Britain’s army transport unit.

Bernard served in France and Flanders as a motor cyclist from 15 August 1914.On 27 August 1915 Bernard joined the RFC as a Second Lieutenant. He became an Observer and later a Pilot, flying on artillery observation or spotting missions with Nos. 2 and 8 Squadron.